Shout It Loud And Clear
by FiresFromOurHearts
Summary: Also part of the Take A Stand, Don't Ever Take A Fall series. Oh, wise, intelligent, witty students in Ravenclaw, why do you bully poor Luna Lovegood? Why are you so above us other Hogwarts students? Why are you know-it-alls? Backstabbers? They are here because they want to be. They are her


Oh, wise, intelligent, witty students in Ravenclaw, why do you bully poor Luna Lovegood? Why are you so above us other Hogwarts students? Why are you know-it-alls? Backstabbers?  
They are here because they want to be. They are here because they can be. They are here because the house is not meant to give confining traits, but meant to gain traits from its students. But things are a little twisted in Hogwarts with her warped history.  
Ravenclaws listen up and listen closely. Shout it loud and clear to the world. You are whoever you will be and can be whoever you want to be.

 **Shout It Loud And Clear** – from The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance

* * *

 _We are told what we are._

 _We are told what we must be and what we will be._

 _If we are not a Puff, a Lion, or a Snake, we must be a Claw._

 _We are not friendly, for we cannot be if we are not in Hufflepuff._

 _We are not brave, for we are not in Gryffindor._

 _We are not cunning because we are not in Slytherin._

 _What is left is what we have to be._

 _We must be smart, intelligent, wise._

 _What happens if we are not? For we are children first._

 _This is how we arrive at Hogwarts, as children._

They entered Hogwarts as children, young and naïve. Unknowing to the rest of the world and like the other first years their minds are befuddled by the grand castle they are in. They are ten and eleven and looking out at the world with very wide and open eyes.

Hogwarts was not always what it was. Once stereotypes didn't exist and no house was scorned. Time changes things; places, people. Once secrets weren't hidden and prejudices were non-existent. But memories fade and histories become warped. Perhaps Hogwarts should've prepared itself for what would happen. For how could it not?

The first year Ravenclaws are led to where they will live for the next years, with the exception of holidays. The prefect gives a speech. It's a blessing for some, a warning for others, and a waste of time for most. The first years don't listen because they don't know. They will learn quickly, for Hogwarts will not give them enough time to do otherwise.

 _Owls symbolise wisdom and intelligence. It is not Ravenclaw's animal._

 _Eagles are ferocious, rash, and perhaps – most tellingly – protective of what is theirs._

 _Yet to find a Ravenclaw we are told to look in the library._

 _It is said they are bookish, smart, intelligent, wise, and know-it-alls._

 _However, we are children first and then we grow, just as we learn._

 _How can you say what we are, if you do not see what we are first?_

 _You can ignore who we are and pretend we are otherwise, but it does not make us otherwise._

 _Look past what you what you perceive and see what we truly are._

They say there is something haunting the Hogwarts' grounds. It is big; it is scary; it is a monster. It attacks and it will kill. It is a beast; it is magic. Perhaps the Ravenclaws shouldn't be thankful for such a creature to prowl around, but they are nonetheless. It is not for a logical reason, but an emotional one. With something to fear, the house takes comfort from each other, and that lessens the atmosphere that survives in the Ravenclaw Tower.

And then, of course, it is revealed that the attacking being is a basilisk; a remnant to a time when Salazar Slytherin himself stood in Hogwarts. A Gryffindor manages to figure that out, and it feels like they are scorned because the Ravenclaws didn't manage to figure it out, but a brave, courageous Gryffindor.

They wish futilely that they can shout – scream – at the other houses that they never picked it up either. They can't do that, though. Instead, they fix their features into a disdainful expression and let their faux arrogance bleed through. It's what everyone expects to see, and who are they to defy expectations?

 _You might find a place in Ravenclaw, if you have an intelligent mind._

 _Can you explain to me, then, why we are in Ravenclaw?_

 _For if, it's only for intelligence, then surely we would be on top of all our classes._

 _Backstabbers, you cruelly whisper behind our backs. Ignorant, we reply loudly and arrogantly._

 _Know-it-alls you retort, proud of your slurs for children. Idiots, come the response._

 _Wit, wisdom, intelligence. Logic, reasoning, ready minds._

 _Ravenclaw traits, but is that really all we are?_

Would it be expected for a child to go up against an adult? Is that any different from a Ravenclaw student against a Hufflepuff adult? It appears that way. Let Sirius Black into the castle, but do not ask the Ravenclaws how he got in. They are children, and despite your pushing for intelligent minds, that is not what they all are; it doesn't have to be.

Ravenclaws are competitive; they want to be the best, and more often than not, they are. So, other houses, tell your members to be wary. After all, according to you, the only use that exists is our minds. One day it will be different; that's when you will all see.

 _The treatment of Luna Lovegood was not our finest behaviour._

 _You judge us on that, as it reinforces your beliefs._

 _Your beliefs caused us to act like this._

 _You shaped us with your stereotypes, and we can push all we want but your minds do not change._

 _Yes, maybe this is on us. It isn't only on us, though._

 _You're to blame too._

Triwizard Tournaments are deadly; all evidence points to this as a fact. Three schools joined for some time, and one would've thought something would change. Nothing changed. Students from other schools were tugged into power plays and alliances. They were taken under the wing of different houses and were quick to learn the stereotypes.

Young Cho Chang fell in love and stayed that way. Marietta, her friend, was trusty and stuck with her through love and schoolwork, fraying relationships and tears. Luna Lovegood was bullied and accused, insulted and ignored. She was a lunatic, loony. She didn't fit in as a Ravenclaw. There were no signs of intelligence within her.

 _Come talk to us, the wise ones of this school._

 _We do not make mistakes; we are too smart for that. Where did we learn this?_

 _We are intelligent. We are arrogant. Who told us that?_

 _We are witty. We are knowledgeable. Why did we believe that?_

 _Hogwarts was once made for children, to be a home away from home._

 _Hogwarts foundations changed to lies and stereotypes and warped histories._

 _Such foundations were once strong pillars of hope, safety, protection, and refugee._

 _The blame has been placed on all of us. The die has been cast._

 _You are not innocent; none of us are._

Dumbledore's Army arose, a rally for light witches and wizards to come together, to learn. It was never surprising that Ravenclaw heard the call, and followed it. They wish to learn, and maybe that's how they grow too.

Then, you turn on the Ravenclaws, or at least one. Marietta was someone who would walk, barefooted, into hell for the sake of a friend. As tensions increased within the school, children thought to themselves alone. They cannot speak out; there is no one to talk to. They are all trapped by chains that are tied to the ground wrapped with accusations and stigma and stereotypes.

You cursed her; you laughed at her. She was scarred both mentally and physically. She was betrayed and tossed aside, ignored and laughed at in her face. With the word 'sneak' across her face, she would never be the same. She would live with the reminder that good intentions can have consequences, and that even doing things for the people you love didn't leave you unharmed. For looking out for her mother and for her friend, she was jinxed. It was surprising to many, though; Ravenclaws are backstabbers in the end.

 _With open and wide eyes, we had come to Hogwarts._

 _Children we were and were still then, even in the face of such news._

 _Voldemort (You-Know-Who) was back, and everyone knew._

 _The knowledge was not hidden; it was not hoarded._

 _They were children who only remembered peacetime._

 _Perhaps this was forgotten in the grand scheme of thing, by those at each end of the chessboard._

They were not unaware of what was coming; they could tell war was on the horizon. Nevertheless, they didn't remember fighting, of what it felt like to have adrenalin rushing through you and knowing every move could mean your death. They didn't know what it felt like to fight for every breath, to fight for something bigger than you, but was for you as well.

They didn't need to know, though. They had fought with words and insults and slurs. This would be different, more harmful, and traumatic, but it would be the same too. It would still be hatred and anger stirring and it would still be depending on others and trusting yourself.

They did not prepare to fight or for war that year. They were aware, yes, and maybe some put extra research into survival spells, but they did not search for curses or jinxes. Hogwarts was different as well; no one sought fights in hallways and everyone was serious. Nonetheless, it was still the same as it had always been. A big castle playing at being a home with tension between houses and stereotypes clamping down on everyone.

They took what they could get a small laugh, shared smiles, and a crow of delight upon winning a game. It wasn't who they were that mattered, but what they did. It was in the peace and calmness before the wind tore through and war came forth.

 _Stone walls and whispered secrets in the dark of night; Hogwarts was dangerous, make no mistake._

 _It is now we learn how to back down from a fight._

 _We learnt how to carefully mask our actions under a guise looniness._

 _We could say we acted like children, but we didn't._

 _We were children, those growing and those young._

 _We did scream and cry and feel aches in injuries._

 _We gained scars and exhaustion._

 _We learnt what stolen moments of peace were and fighting for our life and something bigger._

 _We were children growing up in a war-torn world for adults._

 _We learnt._

Ravenclaw is not for the brave, for the loyal, for the ambitious. It's for children who enter a magical place with naïve minds and wide eyes. It's for children, who will be students, who will grow and graduate to be adults. It's for those who chose to have an eagle symbol instead of a snake, a lion, or a badger.

The traits that the other houses identify as Ravenclaw are intelligence, wit, and wisdom. The traits were not made for stereotypes, but they were used to create conformity. They were twisted to become weaknesses and reasons for hatred.

Luna Lovegood didn't find a home in the Ravenclaw Tower, where shoes were taken and clothes hidden. She wandered but not unknowingly, she did so with purpose and individuality. Cho Chang lost so much one year, a world shattered around her, and cut her deeply enough to scar. She fought and hid and had graduated; she moved around with plans and acceptance. Marietta was forced to walk around with the word 'sneak' imprinted on her forehead due to trying to keep her mother safe. She had to exist with the knowledge everyone could see; she learnt to be creative and work around problems.

You see, the thing is that the traits of Ravenclaw are what people want to see. It's the basis of something, and that's what standards are built upon. A foundation built upon wit, wisdom, and intelligence created a stereotype that poisoned.

Blue and bronze. An eagle, not an owl and not a raven. Intelligent? Possibly. Witty? Possibly. Wise? Possibly. They are traits but the house was never meant to define the person. The person was meant to define the house. So yes, maybe some were intelligent, and maybe some tried to be wise, and others might've had a witty tongue. But there's something else, because Ravenclaw is as much about creativity as it is about logic. It focusses on individuality as well as order. It is acceptance and originality as well as intelligence, wit, and wisdom. It can be bravery just like it can be loyalty and ambition. You can have one trait and have others. Being in Ravenclaw was never meant to confine you.

 _The call came; the saviour was back (but he hadn't really been a saviour, just a child)._

 _He was still a child playing at being an adult._

 _Although, adults always begin as children playing adult – fake it until you make it._

 _We had once fought back with verbal taunts, childish insults for grave situations._

 _Life had changed since then, because time goes on and it doesn't stop._

 _We now fought with spells and acts and tears and sabotage._

 _We had learnt from our experiences, from our books, from our emotions._

When Harry Potter came back to Hogwarts; it was not to a small group of children who were scared and looking for a leader. He came back to Luna Lovegood with a vacant expression and half-a-dozen impossible ideas that would work anyway. He came back to Marietta with the word 'sneak' scarred on her head and a steady hand and ready mind. He returned to find Cho Chang who had a trembling arm but acceptance of what had happened.

It had been a year of terror and exhaustion. It had been a year of walking the line between disobedience and obedience, pain and safety, death and life. It had been a year of living with danger and struggling to survive. It had been a year of carefully planned kitchen raids and sabotage and saving children.

It had been a year of learning, and Hogwarts had always been a school ready to teach. Some had learnt curses and jinxes, others had learnt spells to heal and summon tissues. Many had learnt how to hide in the darkness and how to fight from the shadows. Everyone had learnt to put aside petty fights and thoughts on stereotypes to fight for something bigger.

And they were fighting for something bigger and greater than themselves, but they were also fighting for themselves and that's something not quite big, but not small either. They were fighting for freedom and for revenge and because they hated so much, and to spite those who attacked them. They fought because they were full of rage that had no outlet. They fought because they were selfish and wanted life. They fought because this was their war, their battle, their life.

War and battles never really go away. Pain fades from memories, and scars fade as well. But they were there once upon a time, and that's important to remember. Their stories once started with right now, but now they begin with once upon a time or a long time ago. Those stories were meant to be fairy tales with happy endings, but reality isn't like that. Instead, they have endings with families or friends but also death and grief. They lived a childhood in peacetime and grew up in war, only to live as an adult in what comes after.

 _When you are sorted at Hogwarts, your character traits are immediately told to you._

 _We are intelligent, witty, and wise. That is all we are and all we will ever be._

 _Bookish and know-it-alls, arrogant and aloof._

 _To find us you are told to look in the library, but one doesn't have to learn from books._

 _We fight in hallways with verbal taunts._

 _You whisper behind our backs, but we are aware._

 _You judge us by our worst behaviour, and that's after you've pushed us to act like that._

 _The blame isn't solely on us._

 _Hogwarts was made to be a home away from home, and it was made to be a school._

 _It's a place filled with filthy, rotten lies and conforming stereotypes._

 _We were brought up in peacetime, and we reflect that._

 _Does that make it surprising that we can still fight?_

 _We learn, oh so very quickly, and everyone learns too._

 _Did you know you learn best when pain is used to reinforce your lesson?_

 _We entered these halls as children with childish insults._

 _We grew up in this castle under the weight of stereotypes._

 _We fought with words and then spells, and felt pain and learnt to cry silently._

 _We are Ravenclaws. We are proud of our house._

 _We can be whoever we want to be, because it is us who define the house._

 _The traits are there because people have those traits. Those aren't the only traits they have._

 ** _We have fought, but it mightn't have been for you._**

 ** _We have learnt that we're all individual. We accept that._**

 ** _Acceptance, individuality, originality, creativity._**

 ** _These are some more Ravenclaw traits, but they aren't the only ones._**


End file.
